Bust support for women&#39;s wear



May 30, 1950 1 P. EDELMAN BUST SUPPORT FOR WOMEN'S WEAR Fim sept. 2s. 194e Patented May 30, 1950 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

This invention relates to womens wear. More particularly, the present invention relates to improvements in womens clothing, which clothing has the function either wholly or in part of supporting the wearers breasts and imparting a hrm, youthful appearance thereto.

The unique and distinctive shape of a womans breasts in conjunction with the demands of fashion have long posed problems for designers of brassire type garments. A well-designed brassire should shape and support the wearers breasts yet should also be comfortable to wear. Unfortunately, the more a woman is formed to require brassire support and restraint, the more considerations of such support and appearance mitigate against considerations of comfort. It has been the principal problem of designers to balance these considerations against each other in their attempts to produce garments providing the maximum amount of support and the maximum improvement of appearance with a minimum sacrice of comfort.

Accordingly, it is the principal object of my invention to provide improvements in womens clothing having a brassire-like function, which improvements accentuate the support and youthful appearance imparted the wearers breasts yet which also preserve the wearers comfort.

This object I accomplish by my invention of brassire-type garments comprising a pair of breast-receiving cups, each of said cups having a resilient bracing member attached thereto. My invention differs from the well-known wire-support brassire in that each of the bracing members in my garments is attached to the cup associated therewith partiallyA outside and partially inside said cup. This novel construction improves the draping of the cups, causes the pattern to yield better contours, and prevents the resilient member from pressing against the wearer. My invention further differs from the prior art garments in that my bracing members, for a portion of their length, extend beyond the stitching in the cups which delineates the curve of the breast. I have found that this departure from said delineating stitching still provides the necessary bust support yet it does not crowd the breast and thus makes for greater comfort for the wearer. Still further, my bracing members do not extend alongside the wearers arms and thus cannot cause the pinching frequently experienced with the prior art wire-support brassires.

The foregoing and such other advantages, objects and capabilities as may appear herein or be pointed out as this description proceeds, or as are inherent in the present invention, will be more apparent from an examination of the accompanying drawing together` with the detailed description thereof which follows.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a front elevational View of a shouhder-strap brassire incorporating my invention, a portion of the plush covering of the resilient bracing member being broken away to disclose the wire beneath;

Figure 2 is a front elevational view of another type brassire incorporatingmy invention;

Figure 3 is a front elevational View of a bathing suit including a bust portion made according to my invention, part of the ornamental trimming being broken away to show the resilient bracing member therebeneath; and

Figure 4 is a front elevational view of a foundation garment including a brassire portion constructed according to my invention.

Like reference characters are used to designate similar parts in the drawing and in the description of invention which follows. i

Referring now more particularly to Figure 1, the brassire 5 illustrated therein comprises a pair of fabric, breast-receiving cups B and 'l` connected by elastic or fabric pieces 8 and 9. A strap I0 is sewn to the outside edge of the: cup 6 and a similar strap H is stitched to the outside edge of the cup 1. Hooks l2 at the free end of the strap l0 and eyelets VI3 at the free `lend of the strap Il provide means for fastening the two straps together at the back of the wearer. An elastic insert i4 in the strap il accommo dates the wearers chest expansion and contraetion. Shoulder straps l5 and I6 complete the means for securing the brassire 5 upon the Wearers body. i

The cups 6 and 1 are cut upon a bias to impar ra stretching quality to their fabric. A dart I1 i's formed in each cup from its under edge towards its center to give it the desired concavity. When the `stitching IB, which delineates the under curve of the breast, is sewn into the cup, the fabric thereof is gathered as illustrated in the drawing to give the cup fullness.

Each of the cups 6 and 'l have fastened to it a resilient bracing member, preferably a curved steel wire iS covered by plush or other soft fabric 2li. This resilient bracing member is attached to the convex surface of the cup along the border portion thereof from the connecting piece 8 between the breasts `to a point shortly past the dart Il. At approximately the nethermost point upon the edge of the cup, the resilient bracing member passes over said edge' and extends for the rest of its length inside the cup. At the foot of the dart l'l, the resilient bracing member also departs from the curvature of the delineating stitching I8 and curves outwardly of said stitching for the rest of said members length. Said length is such that the resilient bracing member terminates s-ubstantially short of an 180 arc, projecting only a short distance along the upward, outward curve of the breast. Thus, the wire l 9 cannot pinch the wearer when she draws her arms together. Also the resilient bracing member associated with each cup is entirely independent of the corresponding member attached to the other cup so that there can be no unpleasant pressure between the breasts.

The covering 20 of the wire I9 is sewn to the fabric of the cup along the full length of the resilient bracing member. It may now be perceived that where the resilient bracing -member extends along the outside of the cup, the fabric of that cup will not drape as fully as it will along the length of said member inside said cup. 'I'he fullness of the cup is therefore shifted outwardly from the dividing line between the breasts. rihe breast receives the greater part of its support and constraint at the inside lower quadrant of the cup, and thereby is gently yet firmly urged upwardly and outwardly towards the youthful shape it is desired to achieve.

With the outward urging of the cup, a greater weight of the breast is brought to bear upon the delineating stitching I8. If the resilient bracing member followed the stitching I8 exactly along its upward, outward curve, its constraint would become very uncomfortable, especially for women with full breasts. For this reason, I have given the bracing member a slightly lesser degree of curvature than the stitching i8 so that the former extends outwardly below the latter. I have found that the bracing member still furnishes the necessary degree of support when positioned slightly below the stitching i8 without the attendant discomfort that would result had the curvature of the two been made the same.

My invention is adapted to incorporation in any womans garment having wholly or in part the function of bust control. Figure 2 illustrates a brassire 2i designed for bare shoulder wear and constructed according to my invention. The brassire 2| has no shoulder straps, nor does it require any since the entire support of the breastsis furnished by the resilient bracing wire 9. A plurality of fiat longitudinal struts 22 replace the shoulder straps in the function of extending -the cups over the breasts.

'2.5 to'prevent a lingerie appearance. However, as

is disclosed by the broken-away portion of the `trimming 25, the resilient bracing member in the bathing suit 24 extends partially outside and partially inside the cups 6 and 1 exactly as do the corresponding members in the brassire of Figure 1. Figure 4 illustrates my same invention included in the brassire portion of a foundation garment.

My novel construction of a brassire Cup with a bracing member partially inside and partially outside said cup permits the manufacture of garments with far better contours from the simpler patterns. Attempts otherwise to secure the improved draping and increased fullness in the outward portion of the cup characterizing my invention would require much more complicated patterns and expensive cutting and sewing operations. My invention thus provides relatively inexpensive garments with a degree of style and comfort inherent therein formerly exclusively within the province of far more costly articles of clothing.

Having thus fully described my invention and indicated its utility, I claim:

l. A brassire comprising: a pair of fabric cups each having a drapery fullness to fit over and receive a womans breasts; stitching along the lower border portions of said cups to delineate the under curves of the wearers breasts; an elastic member -connecting said cups between the breasts; means supporting said cups upon the body of the wearer; and a pair of flexible, arcuate wires covered with a soft fabric, each of said covered wires secured to a different one of said cups along the lower border thereof between said elastic member and approximately the nethermost point of its corresponding cup, each of said covered wires positioned inside of and free from its corresponding cup as it extends laterally of said nethermost point, the freely projecting portions of said covered wires curving upwardly at a lesser degree of curvature than said delineating stitch ing, and extending a shorter distance along the under curves of the wearers breasts than said delineating stitching, whereby the drapery fullness of each of said cups is shifted outwardly with respect to the dividing line between the wearers breasts for the firm yet comfortable restraint thereof.

2. In an article of womens wear including a pair of cups shaped to receive and fit over the wearers breasts, each of said cups including a lower inner quadrant and a lower outer quadrant means for adjusting the shaped fullness of said cups, comprising: a pair of curved, resilient bracing members, each for a different one of said cups, a portion of each of said bracing members affixed to its corresponding cup along the border of the lower inner quadrant thereof, the remaining portion of each of said bracing memberspositioned inside of and free from its corresponding cup and extending along only a part of the lower outer quadrant thereof, whereby the drapery of said cups is tautened along said first mentioned portions and permitted to fall full and free along said remaining portions.

LEONE P. EDELMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS France .,V s.. Aug. 22, 1936 

